


The Beginning

by Wishfulthinking1979



Series: Hunting Scum and Villainy [1]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25481584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfulthinking1979/pseuds/Wishfulthinking1979
Summary: Anakin Skywalker, with the help of his two most loyal officers, General Veers and Admiral Piett, is going to take a lot of side missions away from the fleet, in order to hunt out pirates and slavers who oppress the galaxy .He promised to free the slaves. Thus, they will begin this quest on Tatooine to fulfill that promise.This quest will take them to many parts of the galaxy, sometimes with the full might of the fleet and sometimes it will be just the three of them undercover.The word is out. Anakin Skywalker is coming to stamp out scum and villainy.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo
Series: Hunting Scum and Villainy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845904
Comments: 119
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea popped in a while back. I decided to make it a series. Some of these stories will be essentially one shots. Others, like this first one, will be chaptered, but unlikely to be as long as some of my other work. So they will all be here when on this theme.  
> I liked the idea of these three officers working not only to keep peace in the galaxy of the New Republic but also to try and help the oppressed. Piett and Anakin have some very personal reasons to do so and Veers, by virtue of being close to Piett, is very eager to help. 
> 
> And I liked the idea of them being the Star Wars version of the Three Musketeers sometimes. So here we are. ;)
> 
> This is still within the AU I have created, and you can see my notes on my other works about that. Or if you've read it, you know! :) 
> 
> MASSIVE thank you to Morwen of Gondor for editing!!! She is the best.

Watching the Axxilan fleet rendezvous with the Lady was among one of the stranger experiences in Piett’s life. 

And he’d been through some strange things. 

But this…...this was his past and his present merging into one. He was doing his best to remain calm and unflustered, clenching his hands behind his back and gazing out at the smaller ships of Axxila as they all met near Lannik.

“Sir, we’re being hailed by the flagship.”

“Put it through,” he ordered, hoping his voice was more steady than it sounded to his ears. 

“Admiral Piett.”

“Indeed, Admiral Jariff I believe?”

The older man with a full head of snowy white hair, nodded.

“Permission to come aboard, Admiral?”

“Granted sir. We will be expecting you in hangar bay 12,” Piett replied politely.

“Until then, Admiral.” And the transmission cut.

“Sir, the Admiral’s shuttle is on the way.”   
  


“Make sure it gets here safely,” Piett commanded, turning.

“You have the bridge, Captain.”

Kelly gave the affirmative and Piett moved to the turbo lift.

It was finally happening. After decades of working toward it and a lifetime of hating it, he was going to help bring down the Hutt cartel. There had been close ties between them and the pirate infestation from Piett’s homeworld---the two fueled each other and made life miserable for those living in numerous Outer Rim planets.

There were more immediate threats to his home planet in the form of smugglers, spicers and pirates, but the Hutts had the broadest reach. Jabba’s death a few years previous (and he still hated thinking of his princess being in reach of the foul slug, much as he was impressed by her strength) had helped to shake the firm grip the cartel had once had in this sector. 

This was their opportunity. The New Republic had encouraged and supported Piett and his commander in their drive to root out the scum of slavery and piracy in the galaxy. The fleet had been given two main directives---maintain the peace of the galaxy and, closely tied to doing so, root out the greatest threats to that peace.

Currently, those two greatest threats were remaining Imperial cells and the pirate/slaver bands. 

Piett and Lord Vader had worked closely on this first stage of the operation for months now, preparing to strike hard and devastatingly at a key part of the Hutt empire---Tatooine.

Veers had spent the last 6 weeks on the coastlands of Ziwale, training with his walkers and smaller AT-ST’s for a sandy terrain. He had returned recently, deeply tan and declaring that he was going to take his next shore leave on a mountainous planet with trees, and  _ grass _ , and greenery.

_ “And don’t give me that eyebrow, Firmus, just because you like the ocean doesn’t mean everyone else is so fond….” _

Because Jedi power did not work on Hutts, the bulk of this operation depended on the military side of things, as well as his lordship’s extensive work on the planet amongst the massive slave settlements. He had been arming and preparing them for an uprising and was awaiting them now in Mos Eisley.

Piett himself had reached out to old contacts from his days hunting pirates, and was preparing for the final meeting. He had two contacts---One was from the old days---a snitch who was fairly reliable if paid enough, and had set up the connection between Piett and the local contact. It was this man who was crucial to their plans---he had access to the equipment that could disable all the slave implants simultaneously. He was nervous and had needed a significant deposit even before this meet up. Piett would go with him to disable the trackers while his lordship assembled the slave population for an uprising. 

Veers would surround the city with his men, and if any of the cartel sought to escape off planet, Commander Skywalker would be waiting for them. He was to be joined by several ships from the Axxilan fleet which would be hiding behind some of the large asteroids that orbited the planet.

Taking the Lady, while very appealing to Piett on many levels, would be far too obtrusive, and they needed subtlety for this. Thus, the Axxilan forces had agreed to help them in this endeavor, partly because of their own work to eradicate piracy, and partly because of Piett’s service there. 

He made his way to the hangar bay and stood calmly waiting on the deck as the shuttle made its final approach. He was aware that he could have awaited Admiral Jariff in the conference room, but he had always hated that sort of pretentiousness. Courtesy dictated that he greet the Admiral immediately. He wasn’t Ozzel after all. 

The ramp descended and Jariff came down, moving with great vigor for a man a good 25 years Piett’s senior. He was accompanied by two of his men, but both had their blasters holstered---a sign of trust and Piett was glad to be worthy of it.

“Admiral,” he said, stepping forward and saluting. “Welcome aboard.”

Jariff returned the salute. “Thank you, sir. Not every day I get saluted by a Fleet Admiral.” 

Piett smiled. “Well, seeing as my fleet isn’t here at the moment….”

He gestured toward the corridors. “We can move to my conference room, sir. Can I have any refreshments sent up?”

“As long as you have caf, Admiral, I will be a happy man.”

“That we can do,” Piett responded as they entered the lift. 

“I must say, Admiral,” Jariff commented, “I had heard rumors of this Super Star Destroyer, but seeing her up close…..well. She might be one of the loveliest things I’ve ever laid eyes on and I include space angels in that.”

_ Well if you were going to get to his heart….. _

Piett smiled at him warmly. “Thank you, Admiral. I am of course, rather biased, but I feel that way as well.” The turbolift lights flickered ever so imperceptibly. 

_ Yes, Lady, you are gorgeous and you know it.  _

“You were her Captain, I believe, before you were the Admiral,” Jariff said as they got off the lift and walked down the corridor toward Piett’s conference room. 

Piett raised a surprised eyebrow. “Doing some homework on my career,sir?” he asked as he ushered them inside. Veers was waiting for them, along with Skywalker.

“You don’t remember me do you, Piett?” Jariff commented, smiling at him.

_ Oh dear, should he? _

Veers gave him an inquiring look.

“It’s quite all right,  _ Lieutenant Piett.  _ I was an Admiral then as well, and you barely had any contact with me. You, however, were someone to take note of even then.”   
  


And suddenly, Piett remembered. 

_ Clutching the thermal detonator in his bound hands, holding it so it wouldn’t explode. He was so very tired, but they would all die if he let go and he was surrounded by frightened children of all species…. _

_ Then, light lancing into the cargo container suddenly and he couldn’t see, but Force damn it, they wouldn’t get him to let go of this detonator…. _

_ A voice that he somehow knew was authoritative, saying----”It’s all right, Lieutenant, you can let go, we’ve deactivated it….” _

“That was you in the raid! You came personally?” Piett said, stunned.

Veers and Skywalker still looked confused, though very interested, as Jariff smiled again. 

“For that raid? Absolutely, Admiral. Ah, thank you.” A galley bot had brought him a cup of caf. Veers signalled for one too, and had that look of purposeful curiosity about him.

_ They really didn’t need to go down memory lane… _

“I’ve never heard about this,  _ Piett _ ,” his friend said meaningfully.

Piett sighed internally.  _ Veers would be like a dog with a bone for this story, he could tell. _

“Admiral Jariff this is General Veers and Commander Skywalker.”

“Oh yes, I know of both of you by now,” Jariff said, shaking their hands. “Well, Piett was always too modest. I was rather put out I must say when the Imperial Navy poached him. But that raid, oh yes, I was present.”

“I’d love to hear about it,” Veers said calmly, but with purpose in his voice. 

“Shall we sit down?” Piett said, casting his friend a quelling glare.

“Absolutely,” Jariff replied, sitting and sipping his caf appreciatively. Piett had hoped they could discuss the business at hand….

“We broke up the largest child trade ring in the sector. We’d been working on it for over a year, and Lieutenant Piett was one of three section leaders when we went in.”

_ So this was happening then. _

Commander Skywalker gave him a kind smile as Piett sat in his chair with a resigned sigh.

“I was stupid enough to get caught sir, you should mention that.”   
  


Jariff looked at him over the rim of his mug.

“My report said that you made a choice, Admiral. And you chose to give yourself up rather than sacrifice a child.”

_ Yes, he remembered. He could have stopped everything then if he’d been willing for one frightened Bothan child to die for the sake of the others. But she had stared at him with brown eyes like his sister’s…. _

“You see,” continued Jariff, “the traffickers were counting on our young lieutenant here to give up--they thought the explosion and resulting slaughter would deter us from going after the rest of them.”

Veers was looking at him with far too much pride. _ He’d been so frightened of dying. And of course, he couldn’t let the children go with him… _

“Instead, he held that detonator for…..how long was it, Piett?”

“I….really couldn’t say, sir. It felt longer than it was, I’m sure.”

Jariff shook his head smiling. “I see some things haven’t changed. Well,  _ I _ recall. The report said you held it for 22 hours. And they’d tied him in such a way, it was horrifically uncomfortable. We had to pry it out of his hands after we deactivated it. Couldn’t move your arms for two days as I recall, Admiral. Sheer stubbornness.”

“You have no idea,” Veers said under his breath.

Piett was flushing. “I couldn’t let all those children….”

“Indeed,” said Jariff, “but you felt that way about your men as well. You might have had my job some day. Alas, the Imperials saw your value too. But, here you are, commanding the most powerful ship in the galaxy---best man for it I’d say.”

“No argument there, Admiral,” put in Skywalker, grinning at Piett.

_ Was anyone going to actually move past these pleasantries at his expense to discuss what they were here for? _

“Thank you, but I think we really must….”

“Yes, yes, Piett, you are indulging an old man. I think I am allowed to be a  _ little _ proud of you given that you served under my command for three years.”

Piett realized that he was staring at Jariff, and felt a gentle nudge from Veers’ boot against his ankle under the table, which brought him back to himself. 

“Ah, well, thank you sir.”

  
  
_ How many times had someone been proud of him from back then? _

“Now,” Jariff was saying, unaware of the turmoil of emotion he had set off in Piett, though Veers was looking at him with compassionate eyes, “we have three ships at your disposal. It will likely take us around 8 hours to load your AT-ATs, General. Once we have set you down planetside, we will resume orbit as planned.”

“Lady,” said Piett, “pull up the tactical display of Mos Eisley, please.”

A blue image appeared in the center of the table.

“We all know timing is crucial. If we want to catch the key leaders, we cannot risk alerting them to our presence too soon. General, what is your assessment? How far out will you need to start?”

Veers rose with a laser pointer. “I will be taking part of the Herd and approaching from the west. Commander Travis will be approaching from the north---there’s a convenient rock formation here that he and his men will form up behind, so his start point will be several miles closer to the city.”

“Commander,” Piett said, turning to look at Skywalker, “are your pilots clear that we are to do our best to capture, and not kill?”

“Absolutely, sir. I have informed them we intend to bring them to trial.”

“And is your Father….prepared?”

Skywalker was their only point of contact with Lord Vader at the moment as they were striving hard to keep Anakin’s presence from being discovered.

“He is Admiral. He said to tell you ‘good hunting’ and that he will find you.”

Piett nodded. “I will be staying in the city to ensure that all the trackers are deactivated here. If all goes well, this is our rendezvous.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Veers asked, looking at him directly.

“If it doesn’t, we try to meet at the start point for Commander Travis’s group. But one thing needs to be clear.” 

Piett looked around the group. “We cannot make our move until or unless the trackers are deactivated. Otherwise…”

They all knew the slaughter it would cause. And Piett had already had a….vigorous discussion with the General on why he needed to be the one to ensure that they were deactivated. In the end, Max had understood, he just wanted Piett to know he hated it.

_ “Noted, Max. I promise not to take unnecessary risks.” _

_ “Holding you to that, Firmus.” _

“Admiral Jariff, anything further to add?” Piett asked.

“Commander Skywalker, the  _ Ares _ will be transporting your fighters.”

“And Admiral,” he turned to Piett, “we have a ship for you to take into Mos Eisley, sir. How long will you need to be ready?”

Piett’s gut clenched suddenly--this was it. He was going to leave his Lady shortly---They were all getting into place for this mission and he had no assurance that any of them would come back….

“I have to change, Admiral, but I’m packed. If we all met back in Bay 12 in one hour, will that be enough time?” he asked Veers and Skywalker.

“Yes sir” replied the young Jedi, and his friend nodded seriously.

“Then Admiral Jariff,” Piett said rising, “I will have my men escort you back to your shuttle and I will see you in a little over an hour. Thank you again for your invaluable assistance. We are very grateful to have you with us in this endeavor.”

Jariff shook his hand. “It’s an honor to work with you again, Admiral Piett.”

****

Piett had finished pulling on the vest, and was making sure his blaster was secure on his hip when the door chime sounded. 

“Lady?” he asked, confident in her ability to field any unnecessary visitors, and the door hissed open to admit the princess.

_ Well, it was going to be her or Veers. _

She paused, hands on her hips, and took him in. “Well,” she said smiling at him, “that reminds me strongly of Han.”

He rolled his eyes at her. He was dressed in blue trousers and a rumpled off white shirt with a brown vest, so yes, he supposed there was some similarity to Solo--mostly the rumpled part.

He snagged a brown jacked that had seen better days and shrugged it on.

“Did you do this often when you were in the Axxilan fleet?” she asked him.

“Well. Certainly more often than in the last 20 years,” he told her.

“I’m here to walk with you to the hangar bay,” she said, “but let me see...you’re still a little too clean cut, Admiral.” 

She moved close to him and ran her hand through his hair, messing up its tidy appearance.

“And you shouldn’t shave at all until this is over,” she instructed, stepping back to assess her work. 

He grinned at her. “I’ll trust the expert on scruffy looking smugglers.”   
  


She gaped at him. “Admiral! I do believe my Father is rubbing off on you, and  _ not _ in a good way.”

But she smiled and moved to hold him in a tight embrace. “I won’t be able to do this in the bay,” she told him, “and I can’t really tell you to be careful, so please just come back, dearest Admiral, and make sure my Father doesn’t do anything too insane.”

“A tall order, my dear,” he responded, kissing the top of her head, before they pulled apart, “but I will endeavor to do my best.”

“I know,” she said as he lifted his duffel. 

“Take care of the Lady, will you?” he asked as they exited his quarters. The princess shot a glance upward.

“She’s not best pleased you’re doing this, you know,” she said, taking his arm as they walked to the turbolift.

_ Oh he knew. Red lights. Violet lights. Reminders on his data pad in the form of images of his blaster, Veers, and his commander.  _

“Yes,” he sighed as they began the plunge down to the lower decks. “But I think she knows I ought to.”

“She does,” his princess told him, and it was still disconcerting to recall that she and the Lady actually  _ spoke _ .

They exited the lift and made their way to the Lady’s biggest hangar bay, where his shuttle awaited him along with a small farewell party. 

Veers’ lip twitched at his appearance, but that was only to be expected from an army man. Kelly managed to mostly contain his jerk of surprise, while Ellery openly raised his eyebrows.

_ Did they really think he would waltz in there in full uniform? _ _  
  
_

“Captain,” he said holding out his hand, “I expect everything ship-shape on my return.”

“Absolutely, sir,” Kelly returned, smartly, shaking his hand firmly. “We’d like our Admiral to return that way as well, sir.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Sergeant Major, good luck with this one,” he told the big man, jerking his head in Veers’ direction. 

Ellery grinned widely as he saluted. “Oh yes sir. We’ll have your back, sir. See you on the ground.”

The princess went to Veers and took his hand in both of hers. Piett was aware if they didn’t have others present that Max would be getting a hug too, but a hand shake would have to do. 

“I will expect all of you back here,” she told the General, looking earnestly into his eyes and he gave her a small smile.

“Understood, your Highness.”

She squeezed his hand once more, and then it was just himself and Veers.

His friend looked him over. “Did you raid Solo’s wardrobe?”

Piett snorted a laugh. “You are the second person to imply that I look like him.”

“She’s not wrong,” Veers responded with a quirk to his mouth. “I think he stores all his clothing by wadding it up in a box.”

Then there was a pause.

“Firmus, you know that I think this is vital work. I’m glad to be part of it. But I will pick you every time if I’m forced to make a choice. Know that.”

Piett was left speechless for a moment. “Thank you, Max. I’ll endeavor not to put you in that position.”

“That was the idea, Admiral.”

The two of them grasped each other’s arms.

“Good hunting, Admiral.”   
  


“And you, General.”

Piett turned and got on his shuttle. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piett and Veers arrive on Tatooine. We see what Lord Vader has been up to.

Veers watched the Admiral’s shuttle as it made its way toward the Axxilan fleet. It was by no means the first time he and Piett had been on different missions. But they had always been in uniform before. Somehow, Piett being on the covert end of things gave him more cause for concern.

_ Because there was no back up when he was going under cover. _

Veers sighed and put it out of his mind. His best shot at keeping the Admiral safe was to do his own job effectively. Right now, that looked like overseeing the transfer of his Herd to the ships coming in close to the three different hangar bays where the AT-ATs were stowed.

Jariff had been fairly spot on in his estimate that it would take them eight hours to shift all of his walkers over. It was tricky and exacting work and Veers was already tired and grumpy by the time it was finished.

But he always did better once a mission was underway and now, as he and Ellery stood together in the hold of an unfamiliar ship on the way to Tatooine, he let out a small sigh.

The Sergeant Major looked at him knowingly, but didn’t say anything----he was too well trained for that. If Veers wanted to speak he would. 

“You should get some kip,” he told the big man, “stars know we won’t get any once we’re planetside.”

“Yes sir,” Ellery responded. “As soon as you do, sir.”

Veers shot a look at him which the sergeant steadily returned.

“We have five hours sir. If my commanding officer feels he needs to be awake and alert in that time, then clearly I should be as well.”

“Are you blackmailing me, Ellery?” He smiled slightly at the man.

“Never, General. Just pointing out facts, sir.”

“Mmm. Did you speak with the Admiral before we left?”

“Not about getting some kip, sir.” 

_ So they had spoken. He should have known. _

“Sergeant…” Veers sighed. “Do you work for the navy or the army?”

“That’s a bit of a trick question sir, since I’m an army man stationed on the Lady.”

Veers chuckled. “All right, what did he tell you?”

Ellery smiled back slightly. “What he always does, sir---to watch your back and bring you home.”

_ Always eh Piett? But I have no one to give a similar directive to for this mission… _

Veers shook his head. “All right, Ellery. I’ll go close my eyes for a bit. And you are to rest as well and  _ that’s _ an order.”

The big man saluted. “Yes, sir.”

Veers went up to the small quarters that he’d been given for the voyage and, after divesting himself of his boots, he stretched out on the bunk and attempted to clear his mind. 

Which was impossible.

But at least he was lying down and he could appreciate that. It would be sometime before he got this opportunity again. He wasn’t looking forward to moving his Herd through sand once more. Yes, they had trained, but the amount of cleaning for all the joints that had been required afterwards was astronomical. His engineers and maintenance crew had had many choice words on the subject. He could only imagine what they would have to say after  _ this _ mission. 

He wondered how Piett was doing. Then following that train of thought a little further, he wondered how Lord Vader was doing.

  
  


*****

Lord Vader was relying on old memories as he moved through the dim streets of Mos Eisley. The smells and sounds were the same---the hot baked smell of the clay that covered the establishments and homes here, the whiffs of garbage and animal droppings coming out of alleyways as he passed them, the residual scent of street food. 

Things were as in place as Anakin could have them be amongst the slaves here. It had taken him some time to gain the trust of the slave populace, though showing the mark of his tracker on the back of his neck had sped things along considerably. 

He had been extremely cautious. He did not want anyone to know of his past or of his powers. This quest to eradicate slavery and pirates would be very hampered once word got out that a grey Jedi was among the hunters. He was under no illusions that word  _ wouldn’t _ get out eventually. However, he would like to stave off that time as long as possible.

And thus, his current quest. His face was very notable due to his extensive scarring, and he did not want anything reminiscent of Darth Vader either. But he remembered the rumors and legends surrounding the tunnels below this city. And he had been building a network with the reclusive people who frequented these tunnels. He hoped that he had enough good will with them at this point to get what he needed. 

He reached out with the Force---there. A very well hidden entrance. To anyone else that mosaic was seamless. But he could see in the Force where the joints were, and he carefully pressed on one side of the large picture of twin suns----- The entryway opened silently.  _ Well kept then _ .

He moved inside, and shut the door behind him. Instantly he was plunged into darkness, but that was his old friend. He did not need his eyes to navigate.

Broad steps led him down onto the floor of the tunnels and here, occasionally, faint moonlight cast shadows through the grates above him. 

Roughly thirty meters in, he sensed the watchers as they fell into step behind him. They were very good as he had reason to know. If he was not Force sensitive, he wouldn't know they were there at all. 

He reached a spot where several tunnels met in a wide sort of atrium and here he paused.

“I do not come for conflict,” he declared to them all. “I seek the Armorer.”

And suddenly, several torches were lit and roughly twenty Mandalorians could be seen surrounding him, blasters all pointed in his direction.

“You are not a follower of the Way,” said a voice to his right.

“Not that way, true,” replied Anakin, “I follow another way. And currently my quest is to end the slavery the Hutts have perpetuated here.”

_ A significant pause. He was counting on their code to get him through this. He hoped he was not wrong.  _

“This is a noble endeavor. Are you the one who has been working amongst them these past months?”

“I am,” he replied.

“We will need proof that you are one who truly intends good, not simply another seeker after power. 

“Very well,” he said, “I am counting on the discretion and secrecy of your way. You are not to speak of this.”

And he ignited his lightsaber. 

A collective intake of breath, but otherwise they remained still and unmoved as he had expected. 

“Will this do?” he asked them.

“It will do,” a new female voice said and he looked towards the entrance of one of the tunnels on the left. 

He knew without doubt that this was the Armorer. Something in the demeanor of the others and the way that she stood, told him this. 

“Come with me,” she said and turned to walk away without looking back.

He retracted his blade and followed, aware of the other Mandalorians moving away to wherever they had come from. She led him into a fairly intimate room and he was struck by the heat from her forge. It was pleasant given how cold desert nights could become. 

She turned and faced him, standing before her forge.

“What do you wish of me, Anakin Skywalker?”

_ Well. Should he be surprised that she knew who he was? Mandalorians had ever been prized by the Empire for their unique skills and drive. _

“I wish to be unknown as I work toward the freedom of the oppressed here. My quest goes beyond this planet and the longer I can remain anonymous, the better chance we have at eradicating these evils.”

“You desire to look as a Mandalorian.”

It was a very brazen request on his part. “Yes.”

Her helmet was very still, visor pointed in his direction for several minutes.

“Very well. I will grant this. But you must return this armor. You know, I think, Anakin Skywalker, what value the beskar holds for us.”

_ Thank the Force. _

“I do and I will.”

She turned and moved to the back of the forge and came back holding a helmet with a t-shaped visor, as well as a breastplate and vambraces.

“These should suit you, Anakin Skywalker. Please bear in mind what you wear as you carry out your mission.”

“Thank you,” he said with profound gratitude.

As the Armorer helped him to fasten the vambraces, a small scuffle was heard outside. As she seemed unconcerned, Anakin merely reached with the Force.

“I must see him! They said he was here---the man who will help us! I need to see him!”

_ A child with a vaguely familiar voice. _

“May I speak with the child?” Anakin asked the Armorer.

“Let him come!” she called down the corridor.

And a small urchin with messy red hair, much too long, came scrambling into the forge room.

And suddenly Anakin was filled with foreboding. Because he had asked this particular boy to follow…..

“Sir! You said to watch him sir and I did, and the skinny one sir, the one like a spider, he just….” the boy paused for breath “...he just stood there when they took him sir. He  _ sold him out _ sir.” The boy spat this last bit in contempt.

And this was bad on so many levels. 

“Was….was he alive when they took him?” he asked, and the Armorer canted her helmet at him.

“I think so, sir, but he fought them, so….”

_ Nine hells. And he didn’t go down easily so--- likely hurt.  _

“Did you hear  _ where _ they were taking him?”

The red hair flopped in the boy’s face as he nodded vigorously.

“I followed sir, like you said. As far as I could. They never saw me.”

“Well done boy,” Anakin told him, his heart beating wildly. “Where though…?”

  
  
“The old palace sir. And no one comes out of there. Well, who’s been tied up at least.”

_ Kriffing hell and all its suburbs. _

“Thank you,” he told the boy, handing him several credits. “And thank you Armorer, but I must…”

“Yes,” she said.

“I promise to return,” he called over his shoulder and then he was running down the long dark corridors, pulling out his comlink as he did so.

“Veers?” he panted.

“My Lord?” came those cold calm tones.

He prepared himself for the inevitable surge of anger from the General.

“We were betrayed. They have taken him.”

_ And there it was. _

“Your orders, my Lord?”

“Proceed as planned, General. I will retrieve him.”

“My Lord….”

Anakin could sense all the unspoken things.

“Alive to my knowledge, Veers. I will do my utmost to keep it that way. We need him in place for this to work. We will be there in time.”

“Keep me apprised my Lord.”

“I promise, General.”

Anakin emerged from the secret door and looked to the east of the city.

Jabba’s old palace lay that way and he needed to steal a land speeder.

Anakin’s cloak swirled the dust as he strode out into the night.

He had an Admiral to retrieve.

  
  


******

Piett leaned on the exceedingly filthy bar in Chalmun’s and looked around the crowded room. It had been a very long time indeed since he had been in an establishment like this and doing what he was here for. The whiskey he was drinking was cheap and no doubt mixed with homemade swill, but the locals were drinking it and he was doing his best to blend in. 

If things had gone differently in his life, Piett reflected, this could have been the sort of place that he was in constantly. Had he turned to the easy path, the path that one could lose oneself to, this indeed might have been his life. 

But for whatever reason, the easy path had never called to him the way it had to others. And he was grateful, despite all the hardships he had been through. 

And now---he was here to stop others from utilizing that easy path at the expense of suffering around the galaxy.

He spotted a familiar figure across the room through the haze of blue smoke to the right. Slowly he picked up his glass and moved across to the table that was set into one of many alcoves around the cantina. 

“Dravosk,” he said approaching the table, and the skinny informant rose with a false smile. He was rather like a spider with his long, lanky build and stringy hair. The faint smell of spice hung around his clothes---evidence of what he spent his ill gotten gains upon.

“My friend!! It’s been so long. I was so pleased to get your call….and your credits.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Piett replied dryly, his attention shifting to the other individual in the booth. The man who was an unknowing key to their plan. He was only a few inches taller than Piett himself, but was pudgy and nervous with the soft hands of an indoor worker. 

“Introduce me to our friend here,” Piett told Dravosk who laughed too heartily. 

“Sit, sit,” and Piett slid in next to Dravosk.

“Chromksy, this is my friend, let’s call him….”

“The old pseudonym will do,” Piett said mildly, eyeing the nervous man across from him.

“Right, right, so this is ‘Adam’,” the informant told the other man and Piett nodded at him.

“We’re very pleased to have your assistance Mr. Chromksy,” Piett said, sliding a small packet across the table to him. “This is half of what was promised and I will be delivering the other half tomorrow when I meet you at your place of business.”

The man opened the packet and eyed the credits inside before nodding to himself as if making a final decision. 

“And it will be just you, correct? We’re not involving anyone else? Because I’m taking a big risk here and I don’t….”

“Naturally, it will only be me,” Piett said, remaining at his most bland and calm, as though working with a nervous animal---which in a sense, he was. 

“Very well. 1630 hours as agreed. Back entrance. If you’re late, I can’t help you. I have my neck to think of here.”

_ Yes, Piett was very familiar with this type of noble personality. _

“Of course, Mr. Chromksy,” Piett said with the right level of understanding deference to someone so sacrificial.

_ How many times had he used that tone with Ozzel? _

“All right then,” and their sweating and unwilling partner slid out of the booth and hurried out into the night.

Piett and Dravosk were both more practiced and stayed, finishing their drinks.

“So….” Dravosk said, “what brings you back into these circles, old friend?”

Piett hated that designation, but swallowed that for the time being. “I don’t see how that’s really any of your concern, Dravosk. You’re being paid enough not to care.”

  
  
The informant raised his hands defensively. “All right, all right. Just bein’ courteous and all. You comin’ back in these circles is curious is all.”

“Being curious in this business, often ends with you being dead,” Piett commented, raising an eyebrow and finishing the disgusting whiskey.

Another horribly fake laugh. “Too true, too true. Well shall we?”

And Piett was just as eager to get out into the…..well,  _ fresher _ air of the spaceport. 

Both men left casually. 

“And what about the rest of my payment?” Dravosk asked as they turned a corner.

Piett was quick. They had paid him handsomely up front, so the blaster jammed into his side wasn’t a complete surprise when Dravosk spoke.

He dropped to the dust of the street, sweeping out a leg as he did so and taking down at least one of his attackers. He managed to grip his blaster before his arm was seized in a huge hand--- _ a Trandoshan, kriff _ \---and the blaster whipped from his holster. They were dragging him further into the alley, so as not to attract attention. He struggled and was rewarded with a stunning punch in the mouth, splitting his lip and sending him to the sandy street.

“Sorry,  _ Admiral _ , but apparently you’re big news these days. And there was more to be had turning you in than what you were paying,” Dravosk drawled over to the side as Piett managed to kick out the knee of one of his assailants. The man went over with a scream of pain, and Piett received another terrific blow to the face which sent him down as well. He struggled madly, but his arms were being drawn behind his back and heavy binders snapped around his wrists with bruising force.

They pulled him to his feet, panting, and the man whose knee he had kicked out, limped up to swing hard into his ribs. Piett felt one crack.

“You little bastard!” the man spat at him, but one of his companions, seized his arm before he could hit the Admiral again.

“We’re not to do too much yet. His excellency wants to have him questioned more…. _ thoroughly _ .” said a Sullustan. 

_ Well sithspit. _

Piett looked up and realized he was staring into the wide eyes of a child, perched on one of the roofs above them. The boy put a finger to his lips.

_ An ally? From whom? _

But he had no more time to ponder. The Trandoshan hit him again and Piett was plunged into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a great deal of fun adding Mandalorians! ;D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Veers is pissed, Piett wonders how he's going to get out of this one, and Anakin demonstrates that he CAN be subtle in a good cause.

Veers ground his teeth as he flicked the comlink off and moved underneath the belly of his AT-AT. His men knew better than to interrupt him when he began pacing---working off his anger usually---Veers was not given to nervous pacing. 

_ Force damn it. Of course this had happened. He hoped that little bastard of an informant was hiding somewhere in Mos Eisley. Veers would hunt him down and rip him apart, piece by piece and enjoy every scream. _

_ And now his Lordship was going after him. True--he was an ex Sith, and that had a lot of advantages, but they had been working so hard to keep the Force using side of things quiet. Still, if what it took to rescue Piett was flattening the old palace into deck plating, Veers was all for it.  _

_ The soft sand of Tatooine did not make for easy pacing, and he allowed his anger to flare brightly at the fact that his boots sank in and his muscles burned from the extra effort.  _

_ Yes, Piett was exceedingly able. But they were dealing with incredibly dangerous beings here. The last time his friend had been taken….. _

_ Nine Hells. Veers hated being alone in his brain.  _

_ For now, he would obey orders. But a clock had started in his head. He knew how long it would take him to get to the city. Piett was coming back with them come hell or high water----not likely on this planet---so hell then. Veers would bring hell. _

The General paced on and the last bit of heat left in the sand from the suns wafted into the cold desert air.

  
  


****

Anakin made good time to the palace on the speeder he had lifted, his cape billowing out behind him. The helmet helped cut down the wind in his face as he pushed the speeder to its capacity. 

If he estimated things correctly from Piett’s meet time, the Admiral had been taken roughly six hours ago. Much could happen in that time, and Anakin tried not to dwell on that. They would want him alive---would want to know what he was doing here. And he knew Piett. The Admiral would not have given them that information. 

He was both encouraged and sickened at the thought. He knew a little about the current Hutt in charge. He did not have the same…. _ ruthlessness _ as Jabba, nor the reputation, being too young and inexperienced. But he had the backing of the Hutt cartel---so the power base was still here, albeit shaky. 

The looming bucket like shape of the palace buildings were now visible and Anakin hunted for a suitable hiding place for the speeder. It needed to be close enough for a fairly quick getaway, especially if the Admiral was not…. _ operating _ as he should, but not so close that it could be easily spotted.

Finding a rocky overhang, Anakin left the speeder inside its shadow and walked the last mile on foot. It was not usual to have visitors to the palace so late, but not completely unheard of. And he intended to use the Force very much as his ally tonight.

He approached the large gate as he had done a few other times in the past when Jabba reigned here. It struck him suddenly that his son had done this as well to rescue his friend.

_ Well. Some interesting parallels tonight. _

The droid eye was shoved out to view him as he stood silent before the gate.

_ You will allow me entry, _ he thought.

*Tagwa. Uba in a bunko.

And the heavy gate lifted slowly. 

Anakin moved forward and suggested that the Gamorreans ignore him. The green, pig like beings paused momentarily, and then moved back to their guard station, laughing and scratching.

The night steward approached, a dark skinned Twi-lek (Hutts seemed to have a fondness for the species) and inquired his business with Lord Urku.

“I do not wish to disturb his slumber,” Anakin replied calmly. “My business can wait until morning. May I wait in his court?”

_ You will allow me to do so and go about your duties. _

Obi-Wan may not have approved of the amount of manipulating he was doing here. On the other hand, his old master had been fairly free with it in his older years according to Luke…..

Anakin made his way unchallenged into the quiet court and was startled when he sensed an old and faint presence. Two actually. 

His children had been here. Struggled and suffered. His gaze was drawn to a wall currently covered with a hideous tapestry. Somehow he knew Solo had hung there. 

But he could not dwell on those events, though he resolved to speak with his children about them at some point. He could sense the way to the dungeon and moved down the stairs quietly. If challenged, he needed to depend on the Force and his blaster. The lightsaber was a last resort in his efforts to keep his presence covert. 

And he must find Piett alive. Any other alternative was out of the question.

  
  


****

  
  


Piett struggled against the drug racing through his system, clouding his mind. He knew that he must resist it. His training was deeply ingrained, but it was so very difficult. It was very tempting to tell them what they wanted to know. Then he could sleep right?

No. No. He had to stop this. How? Right---pain helped, actually.

“I’ve known space monkeys that can hit harder than this,” he commented.

_ Nice to know he had these insults to hand, even drugged. _

Another strike at his bad knee, and the pain sent clarity shooting through him. Effective. They had discovered the knee early on, and were slowly working toward making it unusable.

Which. 

Not his favorite idea as the Admiral of the Lady. He rather needed both knees thank you.

They had been at it for three hours. And while they were fairly amateur, they knew enough not to go for the big injuries yet, but to work slowly with the smaller ones and wear him down.

_ Kriffing hell. _

He was already hating the nasty burn they had given his forearm, and they liked to aggravate that. Still, he reminded himself firmly, feeling another rib crack, the pain kept his head clear. And he  _ must _ be clear to keep his mouth shut.

“Why are you here, Admiral?” drawled a Weequay again. He’d lost track of how many times he’d been asked this question. 

“Sightseeing,” Piett told him through split lips. He had given up denying who he was. They had his image since Dravosk had given him up and it was unmistakable. He hoped he would have the opportunity to run into his erstwhile informant again. With his fists.

“So very clever.” 

Another burn to add to the collection, this one on the shoulder and Piett finally couldn’t contain a sharp cry though he quickly swallowed it.

_ At least it’s not an electric current. Not yet. Long may that last---he had a particular aversion to that. _

“Well that got something other than insults out of you, Admiral, I think…..” but Piett didn’t get to know what he thought as another courtier entered and whispered something to his interrogator.

“Oh well, grand. This one will keep,” the Weequay drawled. “Your lucky day, Admiral. We’re going up for refreshments.  _ You _ , of course, can think about how soon you’d like to die. Take him to the cells.”

And he was released from the leather straps that had held him, to be re cuffed with binders he was fairly certain were made to slow Wookies down. They were incredibly heavy and had already bruised his wrists badly.

He was dragged through the dim corridors to be tossed roughly into a dirty cell. The door hissed shut and he was left alone with his very drugged thoughts.

Cold air was flowing in from the small barred window high above him. He had no idea of the exact time, but clearly it was late enough in the evening that the residual heat from the day was almost gone. They had stripped him to his once white undershirt, now ripped and filthy, and he shivered. At least he had thick trousers and his boots, but still….

And how was he to try and escape? He needed to reach his contact tomorrow or this was all for naught.

The child.

His wandering mind suddenly fixed on that memory. The child had seemed to have a purpose. For what?

Piett knew that his mind was not operating at full capacity and he was losing the battle for clarity. And he hurt,  _ Force _ , he hurt. 

_ Endure, Admiral, you’ve had far worse. _

Yes, thank you, Veers, but this time, far more people are counting on me.

_ We won’t leave you alone, Piett. _

And that was true, but….

_ You don’t know where I am, Max. _

_ Put it together, Firmus. Who could possibly find you in this scenario? _

So tired…..

_ Stay awake, Admiral! _

Can’t, General…..

  
  


****

Anakin moved slowly and carefully along the corridor. The Mandalorian helmet certainly didn’t block smells and it was bad down here: dank with sweat, and blood, and suffering. Moans and weird chittering sounded further down. Another Gamorrean approached him, its battle axe ready.

_ Just routine, go check the other way. _

It grunted, then wiped the mucus from its nose, and turned to stump back the way it had come.

Anakin waited until it was out of sight before proceeding. He reached with the Force for his Admiral’s presence. This was always more difficult with non-Force sensitives, but he hoped he was close and the fact that he had touched Piett’s mind before should help…….there.

He strode quickly down past three more doors and motioned at the one he was sure of in order to open it. It did so with a hiss he found terribly loud and he ducked inside, motioning to shut it once more. 

The Admiral lay on the filthy floor with his back to him and didn’t stir at Anakin’s entry.   
  


Damn it. He needed Piett conscious to escape without detection. Oh, he would do what it took if it came to it, but carrying the Admiral and fighting were not ideal. 

He removed the Mandalorian helmet and knelt. They had done quite the workover in the short time they had him prisoner. Anakin reminded himself that the time would come for their reckoning and it could not be now. Still.

He knew how to use the Force to give himself more energy, and he began to channel that to Piett---better than numerous cups of caf. He had a stim shot, but knew, looking at Piett’s injuries, that they would need it later. 

And suddenly, the Admiral’s eyes snapped open and he drew a sharp breath.

“Piett,” Anakin warned, placing a hand on his shoulder, and then kicked himself as the smaller man winced hard.

“Sorry,” he told him. “I’m releasing the binders, Admiral. Can you walk?” He concentrated and the heavy binders clicked open onto the floor.

“I...my Lord?” Piett asked, clearly confused, as Anakin helped him sit. 

“Yes. Can you walk?” Anakin persisted, and was not encouraged by how long Piett took to consider this. 

“Sorry, sir. I….they drugged me….” 

_ Son of a Hutt. _

“But I’ll do….my best.”

_ You always do, Admiral. _

Anakin got an arm around him and they staggered to their feet, Piett letting out a sharp hiss and buckling slightly.

“Knee,” he managed. Anakin concentrated. Yes, he could tell it was weak. He was not the healer Leia or even Luke was, but he could do some things. He worked at strengthening the damaged tendons for a few minutes.

“I know that’s not the best, but it will have to do. Try now Admiral,” he instructed and Piett managed a heavy limp independently. 

How could they move through the palace like this? And an idea hit him, though he didn’t like it much. Still, they had no time to be picky.

“Admiral. I am using the Force against our enemies. For a little while, they need to believe you are my prisoner. Can you do that?”

He bent and lifted the binders. Piett watched him and comprehension dawned.

“Yes, my Lord,” and he held out his hands. 

Anakin replaced the binders more loosely over the damaged wrists, again suppressing his anger with an effort. 

“All right,” he whispered, “You walk in front of me. I’ll prod you in the direction you need to go. We can do this, Piett. Stay with me.”

And the shorter man straightened painfully. 

Even drugged and injured, that  _ will _ .

“Always, my Lord.”

They moved much more slowly back the way that Anakin had come. At the stairs, Anakin risked getting an arm around the Admiral to help him up and then they were in the throne room. Several beings looked over curiously at the small human, limping heavily in front of the tall Mandalorian.

_ Nothing interesting is happening. Drink wine, take a nap. _

The beings turned back to their various activities.

They had made it to the huge entryway but Anakin could feel Piett flagging. He tried to send him more energy in the Force but this was more than the drug in his system. They would need time to deal with his injuries. 

The large gate rose and they were in the cold moonlit night of the desert. When Anakin was reasonably certain they could not be observed, he removed the binders again, dropping them to the earth. He came to Piett’s side and got an arm around his waist.    
  


“Almost there, Admiral,” he said quietly. “I have a speeder hidden nearby.”

Piett only nodded, shivering heavily. They were about half a mile away now, but Piett’s eyes were rolling back….

_ Well, honestly it was impressive he’d made it this far.…. _

Anakin swiftly laid him against one of the large boulders and removed his cloak, wrapping the Admiral in it and lifting the slighter man into his arms before moving ahead once again. 

He mounted the speeder, Piett securely in front of him, and took off into the night. Now he had to consider where they could go for shelter and the answer came from the Force.

He focused and...  _ there--- _ still strong even five years after his death. Kenobi’s signature was powerful, for the man had lived here for many years. He pushed the bike as hard as he could now that it was carrying two passengers, though Piett was much lighter than Anakin with his durasteel prosthetics.

At last he sensed he was coming to it and slowed the speeder in front of the adobe hut. He could just see the dark entrance in front of them. He carried the Admiral inside, and flicked on the small flashlight he had in his pack. Unsurprisingly, the house had been ransacked long ago, but it was shelter. He laid Piett on the bench in what he assumed was Obi-Wan’s sleeping alcove at one point. 

_ And he wasn't going to stop and ponder how strange this was. He had an Admiral to take care of, and a mission to complete. _

He lit a small lantern, not wanting to risk a fire, and hunted around the place for anything useful the scavengers might have left. 

He came up with two old blankets, but not much else. He returned to Piett and, after shaking one of the blankets out, folded it to place under his head. Not much comfort, but it was something. He ripped strips from the other blanket and set to work securing the damaged knee, binding it tightly. It needed to serve his friend tomorrow, and hopefully it would do so.

He had the water in his canteen, but that was it. He ripped a piece from the bottom of his own shirt (marginally cleaner and certainly softer than the old blanket) and set to work cleaning the Admiral’s wounds as best he could in the circumstances. 

He swore under his breath the whole time and noted that the smaller man was starting to sweat. Fever---no doubt the drug getting out of his system---and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

More of his shirt was sacrificed for the burn on Piett’s arm. They would need to steal him some more clothes, mostly to hide the injuries. 

He paused in his work and went outside to open his comlink.

It was answered so fast he was certain Veers had been holding it this whole time.

“I have him, General, and we’re in a secure location.”

A quick sigh. “Can I….?”

“I’m afraid he’s not conscious…”

“My  _ Lord _ , I swear….”

“ _ You _ will proceed precisely as we’ve planned, General. Nothing is life threatening, and I’m ensuring he will be able to make his rendezvous tomorrow.”

He could feel Veers’ fierce concern and loyalty from here.

Then--

“Thank you for retrieving him, my Lord.”

“Thank you for trusting me, General. I’ll see you when this is over.”

“Yes sir.”

He moved back inside. He would give the Admiral as much time as possible, particularly to flush the drug from his system, but then they needed to get back to the city.

Anakin pulled out a ration bar and seated himself on the floor next to Piett to wait.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piett and Anakin discuss the plan and their respective pasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was both a difficult and cathartic chapter to write for these two. Enjoy!

Something was cold. It was cold on his face. Also wet. And….. _ ow _ .

Piett opened his eyes and blinked in the dim lighting. It could be a hallucination, because he wasn’t sure that anything from the last 24 hours was real, but it seemed as though Darth Vader was leaning over him.

“Is this…...real?” he asked uncertainly, and was not sure what to think when his commander smiled suddenly.

“I am afraid so, Piett,” the man replied, and continued his careful dabbing at Piett’s face.

“Did you…..I’m not hallucinating that you rescued me then? Because that would frankly be quite discouraging to find out.”

And his Lordship paused to sit back and chuckle.

“You Admiral, have a knack for understatement. It would indeed be  _ discouraging _ . But I’m quite real. You see?” and he made another swipe at Piett’s face and yes, that  _ hurt _ .

“What are you doing, my Lord? And where are we?” A sudden realization swept over him and he was filled with horror.

“My Lord! I have a contact to meet! We must….” 

“Piett.”

A firm hand was keeping him in place and his lordship’s voice was calm.

“We have some hours yet before we even need to make the journey back into Mos Eisley, Admiral. To answer your questions---I am cleaning your face from the dirt and the blood you managed to anoint yourself with. We are in Kenobi’s old hut, and we will do our best to ensure that you are as physically able as possible to meet your contact.”

And at last, Piett’s brain was fully functioning once more, though he wasn’t sure if he should be grateful for that or not.

He lay still as his commander examined the burn on his shoulder, flinching just slightly as he cleaned it. For some reason the man’s scarred face darkened and he frowned. 

“Sorry…” Piett began.

And immediately the former Dark Lord cleared his countenance and sighed. 

“That was not at  _ you _ , Piett, hells…” He smiled ruefully and wound a strip of fabric around the admiral’s shoulder to cover the burn and  _ that _ was not pleasant. 

“I would rather like to employ the Dark Side at the moment on the individuals who did this.” He paused to meet Piett’s eyes. “Luke would not approve.”

He finished and tidied his supplies before stopping to look at his second in command again. 

“I’m sorry you went through that, Admiral.”

“My Lord,” he began, feeling a flush of embarrassment, “I apologize, I should have anticipated that Dravosk….”

“And I’m ordering you to stop right there, Piett. I am fairly gifted in the Force and did not anticipate that, though it was always a possibility, given the nature of such individuals.”

The ex-Sith scrutinized his face closely--examining his work probably, but it was rather disconcerting, and then slid his arm underneath Piett’s shoulders. 

“I’ll help you sit up now, Admiral,” he told him, and eased him into a sitting position against the crumbling clay wall. 

“My Lord,” Piett continued, once both his head and stomach were under control, “you took valuable time needed for this effort to come and…”

He stopped abruptly at the fierce look his commanding officer gave him. Along with a canteen.

“Drink that, Admiral so that I don’t have to hear the nonsense you were thinking just now. I believe you were about to imply I wasted my time to retrieve you. Pragmatically, who would have met your contact then, Piett? Possibly myself, but it would not have ended well. And beside our plans, I will remind you that you are my friend, and for that reason alone, I would have come.”

Piett coughed slightly on the water and wiped away the bit that had dripped down his chin.

“Thank you, my Lord.”

_ He was friends with Darth Vader. Had undoubtedly been carried here by Darth Vader as he was fairly sure he had passed out somewhere in there. His life was a strange and wonderful thing. _

“Now Piett, we must be clear on our plan.”

“Yes, sir.”

“First: we need you physically able to carry out your part. More on that in a minute.”

_ Piett wasn’t sure if that was foreboding or hopeful. _

“Second: we need to get back to Mos Eisley and get you some more clothes. You look like you were beaten by thugs.”

“I  _ was _ …...ah.”

_ Darth Vader was cracking a joke at him. That was not something he was sure he would ever adjust to. _

The infuriating man grinned at him. _ Heard that thought did you, my Lord? _

“If you will insist on projecting them so hard, Admiral, then yes, on occasion I do.”

_ All right then. _

“Third: you meet your contact and I martial all the slaves. I have been in contact with Veers and his orders are unchanged.”

_ Veers _ . Had he….?

He looked sharply at his commander. “Sir, the General….”

“I have the distinct impression, Admiral, that your friend is primarily unhappy with me for allowing you to be captured in the first place. But he is not best pleased with you either.”

“You didn’t have to tell him….” Piett trailed off at his Lordship’s raised eyebrow.

“And out of curiosity, Piett, if the situation was reversed, you would have appreciated being kept in the dark, would you?”

He sighed. “No, of course not. Yes, all right, I see the point. Thank you. And, my Lord, you were not at fault….”

“My command, my responsibility, Admiral,” his Lordship responded, turning his attention to his knee which, Piett noted, had been wrapped very well.

“Now, as promised, getting you in working order. I am not the healer my daughter is, but I will spend most of my efforts on your knee. I have exactly one pain killer and one stim shot, so I am sorry, Piett, but I believe we should wait to use those until we reach the city.”

“Of course, sir.” He drank some more of the water and tried to ignore the throbbing in his face, his arm and….well, everywhere really. 

He watched curiously as his lordship placed his hands on either side of the troublesome knee and focused. He had never been fully conscious for the times that Force healing had been used on him, and this was a very strange feeling indeed. Not….painful, exactly, but not comfortable either. He could feel bruised ligaments shifting slightly and then... _ oh kriff _ , that must be a bone chip moving…

He stiffened and his commander looked up at him.

“I’m sorry Admiral. I think it’s working though.”

“It is,” Piett said through his teeth, “I can handle it my Lord.”

And the man kneeling beside him, huffed a humorless laugh.

“Rather your motto for life there I’d say, Piett.”

_ Well. He had a point, Piett supposed. Not for the first time, he wondered exactly how much Anakin Skywalker knew about his life. He had done some homework on the Admiral--had told him so at one point. And he could read thoughts---memories….But Piett was curious too. His lordship had been very insistent that they start with Tatooine in this quest of theirs…. _

The man in question looked up at him again.

“You have questions, Admiral. Now is the time. Neither of us are going anywhere for a while.”

_ Really? Was he being given permission to ask….? _

“I just….I know my own reasons for desiring to embark on these missions, my Lord. I confess to being curious as to yours. I….” 

_ Could he be this bold? _

“...I know very little of Anakin Skywalker as he was.”

A long silence.

_ Kriff, I’ve overstepped... _

“You haven’t, Piett.”

“ _ Must _ you read my mind all the time, my Lord? It’s rather disconcerting to wonder what you are and aren't hearing..”

And his commander laughed. 

“I promise that I usually just read feelings or moods. But when I am in close proximity to someone it is harder  _ not _ to hear your thoughts. And apologies, but you are in pain and your guard is down, so it is very easy to hear you at the moment.”

He sighed. If he was to be a friend to an ex-Sith he supposed he should get used to this. 

A chuckle from said ex-Sith, and his knee gave a sharp protest as something shifted. 

“You should. And I’m sorry, but I think that was a tendon going back to where it ought to be. Now, you wish to know more of Anakin Skywalker.”

“Only what you desire to share, my Lord,” Piett interjected quickly.

His commander gave a small smile down at his knee, keeping his focus there.

“I wonder if you should refer to me as Anakin given that you wish to know of him.”

_ And that….. _

“I’ve known your name after all for many years….Firmus.”

_ And wasn’t that one of the oddest experiences ever---to hear his name from that voice. _

A smile tugged at his battered mouth painfully, as his lordship looked up at him, an answering smile already on his face.

“I agree. Too strange,” the former Dark Lord said, and Piett managed a chuckle. 

“Indeed. And you are of course, still my commanding officer, so I don’t really see myself shaking that habit.”

His commander nodded. “So much has changed, I am quite content for certain things to be familiar. However, to the point. I…..grew up here, Admiral. I….”

He paused for a long moment, and Piett waited, sipping the water slowly and trying not to wish for a painkiller right now.

“....I was a slave before Obi-Wan found me.”

And a wash of understanding swept over Piett.

_ Vader’s particular hatred for slavers and pirates, even bounty hunters. His contempt for the spice trade and all that it perpetuated. His distaste, though well hidden from most people, for sandy terrain, which Piett had noted on different missions. How Vader would rather execute people than send them to Kessel or Zyggeria. Even his disregard for the origins of his officers. Promoting Piett himself….. _

“How did you become free, my Lord?” he asked quietly.

“I won my freedom in a pod race when I was nine.”

Piett’s brain took a moment to put all those words together into a rational thought.

“You….at nine…because of course you would, even then.” 

“That sounded like you were insinuating something, Piett.” But he grinned. 

“More than insinuating,” Piett mumbled. The man had been an adrenaline junkie at a tender age.

But his lordship grew serious once again. “I swore to come back someday and free the slaves. That included my mother.”

Piett’s heart lurched painfully.  _ His own mother had barely been a step above slavery. He himself…. _

His commander looked up at him. “I was...not in time for her.”

Piett somehow knew not to pursue this topic. “I am very sorry, my Lord.”

“And what of you, Admiral? You have been at this from a young age yourself.”

_ And Piett felt raw and exposed, but what could he do but reciprocate after his lordship had been so very honest with him? _

“What….do you already know, my Lord?” he began carefully. 

Another stab of pain in his knee, but something eased as well.

The former Sith sat back. “I think that is as much as I can do. We’ll test that in a moment. I want to see about taking care of the cracked ribs next.” He paused.

“I knew obviously, that you were from Axxila. I was therefore aware that your background could not have been easy. You joined the anti-pirate fleet very young. You…..lost two sisters before that time. No father in the picture, so…”

He looked up and met Piett’s eyes.

“....I imagine that much was placed on your shoulders. A habit that you still maintain.”

_ Reasonably thorough summary, but…. _

“Yes, my Lord. My homeworld was not... _ kind _ to girls, so it was necessary…”

“How old were you, Admiral, when you set out to support your family?”

_ Long walks for short legs. Hunger. The hulking master and that day…. _

“I was seven, sir.”

His commander considered him for a moment. 

“Let’s see what I can do for the ribs, Piett.”

He made a motion to lift Piett’s shirt, and he couldn’t help his sharp flinch.

“ _ No _ . I….that is….they’re not bad…”

_ I can’t bear for you to see the marks. _

“Admiral. You need to be as operational as possible. There is nothing to be ashamed of.” 

Piett was flushing deeply, and his lordship was looking at him with compassion. 

_ Darth Vader is giving me compassion. And he is right. I need to be able to help…. _

“I have a particular scar myself, Piett, being a former slave.” 

And he turned so that Piett could see the back of his neck and the puckered white scar there from a tracker implant, visible through the newer, more extensive burn scarring. 

_ And he suddenly was ashamed of himself. His commander lived with far more horrific and visible scars after all…. _

“I told you, Admiral,” his lordship turned back around. “you have no reason for shame. You’re one of the bravest men I know. Now, may I work on your ribs?”

Piett swallowed.

“Of course, my Lord.”

The first touch of the nearly real feeling hand was hard, but he managed to keep himself still as his commander carefully felt each rib for the damaged ones. 

“I assume, given your reaction,” his lordship said, “that most of this happened when you were seven.”

Piett pushed back the memories that were threatening his composure.

“Yes.”

He could feel his ribs knitting and it itched even as the pain eased more.

“These however, are more recent…..”

And there was no mistaking the cold and ominous anger in his voice.

Piett sighed. 

“I….assumed that something occurred on your recent trip to your planet. Veers felt murderous. But he did not tell me. Someone from your past then.”

“You could say that. But...it was taken care of, my Lord.”

He even managed to smile at the memory of the General wreaking devastation on his behalf*. 

His commander put his shirt back down and moved to look him in the eye.

“The General showed very admirable restraint then. I would have killed him.”

_ Should he be flattered by that? He wasn’t sure that declarations of intended murder on his behalf should make him feel this much gratitude. _

“Now, Admiral,” and his lordship held out a hand, “we have a mission to complete.” 

Piett took the hand and climbed to his feet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter 47 Forging Ahead


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piett and Anakin make it back to Mos Eisley where Piett meets a familiar face. Anakin spreads the word to the slaves

“Sir,” Ellery called down from the top of the walker’s ladder, “I have some interesting news coming from the city.”

Veers motioned him down. The first pink blush of dawn was teasing the horizon as he watched. 

_ Somewhere out there were Lord Vader and Piett. And yes, his commander had sounded confident, but kriff it, his friend had been unconscious, that was never good…. _

Ellery came to his side.

“What is it Sergeant?”

“Sir, we’ve been monitoring news alerts and communications--regular procedure. But it seems that there was some sort of disturbance last night. Word is out to be looking for a tall Mandalorian with a red helmet and vambraces, and a dangerous Imperial prisoner sir.”

Veers let his mind chew on that for a moment.

_ A  _ **_Mandalorian_ ** _? How in the galaxies had Lord Vader come by Mandalorian armor? Did he want to know?  _

“Do we know who put out the word, Ellery?”

The big man hesitated slightly which was not encouraging.

“If our intel is correct, General, the word came from the Hutt’s palace sir.”

_ And that confirmed his fears.  _

Veers clenched his hands tightly.

_ That was the reason for his lordship to be so terse with him hours before. Didn’t want him to know  _ **_where_ ** _ he had rescued Piett from. Because everyone knew the Hutt cartel’s reputation. Damn it. Lord Vader was confident that the Admiral would be able to complete his part of this mission. He would have to hope that meant it wasn’t too bad. On the other hand, his friend’s definition of serious vs. mild injuries was wildly skewed…… _

“All right. Keep monitoring that. For now though it means they got out so we proceed as planned.”

_ And the next time they did one of these, Piett was going to be confined to the bridge of his ship if it meant that Veers had to cuff him to a console, and he would take the covert ops. Of course, Veers’ ideal scenario was to have the Lady methodically blast every one of these cartels to slag from orbit, but---civilian casualties so…. _

It was already starting to feel warm. How any beings lived on a planet with two suns was beyond him. 

And yet, Darth Vader had spent his early childhood here. Luke Skywalker had grown up here. And unless you were a criminal, life was incredibly difficult here. 

Which was why they were here of course. 

Veers raised his commlink. “Commander Travis, is everything ready on your end?”

“Yes, General.”

“Very good. Keep me apprised of any changes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Veers hated waiting.

  
  


*****

Anakin glanced down at the man standing next to him. They had managed to snag a few things from someone’s washing line, and the worst of the Admiral’s bruises and injuries were hidden from suspicious eyes. They couldn’t hide his pronounced limp, though Piett declared it much more manageable than it had been the night before.

_ “The Jedi might have had a very lucrative healing side hustle, my Lord.” _

Anakin was discovering how much he enjoyed his Admiral’s dry sense of humor now that he felt comfortable enough sharing it with him.

They were on the edge of the city, standing in the shadows of a very narrow alleyway indeed. Piett looked quite disreputable now, his battered face actually going a long way to disguise the polished Imperial that he was. 

_ Of course, there would be hell from his daughter for that….. _

It was about midday and the twin suns were blazing overhead, doing their level best to scorch everything below out of existence. 

A pair of rough looking men moved slowly past their alley, both holding datapads and scanning passersby with their gaze.

“Odds are they’re looking for us,” Piett said quietly. “I must admit, my Lord, things are going to be considerably more challenging without either my blaster or my commlink.”

Yes, Anakin had considered that as well. He had removed the Mandalorian helmet and stowed it in a bag over his shoulder.

“Well, Admiral,” he responded, “I have faith in your ability to improvise.” 

Piett snorted lightly. “I’m glad one of us does, sir. Where shall I look for you once I have disabled the trackers?”   
  


And Anakin found himself reluctant to let the man out of his sight again, unarmed and injured as he was. But Piett was looking to him confidently for orders….

“I intend to bring all the elderly and children to the old Imperial garrison. The men and women who can fight will set up a perimeter there. Veers is to make his presence known shortly after we begin, to deter as much fighting as possible. Make your way to the garrison--I would appreciate your help there--you can communicate with the General so that I can talk to my son.”

Piett nodded. 

“Very good, my Lord. Then….good luck.” 

Anakin took his outstretched hand. “And you, Piett.”

And after a quick glance out into the street, the Admiral was gone. 

Anakin reached with the Force---they were indeed being hunted. He shielded himself in the Force so as to be as unnoticeable as possible and made his way out into the streets. He could see the numerous armed thugs and bounty hunters that were employed by the Hutts and other more minor cartels, mingling with the crowd. 

Tatooine’s Imperial garrison had disappeared two years back, after the crushing defeat at Endor, as the Imperial remnants largely abandoned the Outer Rim planets in favor of stronger positions around the galaxy. That too was something the New Republic Fleet was battling, but if they could start cutting off the flow of slave labor and black market supplies, they would have more success in finally defeating the Imperial remnants. 

He moved further into the city. He had specific beings to check with before everything proceeded apace.

A nod to the Togruta male at the food stall.

He ordered a blue milk from the large middle aged woman in the grill and bar near the general store and she tapped the counter so that several of her fellow workers looked up to meet his eyes.

Several credits into the hands of various urchins who ran off down various side streets to spread the word.

When he had completed this, he moved back to the entrance of the tunnels. 

It was marginally cooler down here and Anakin appreciated the reprieve from the heat of the day. He made his way unerringly to the Armorer’s forge. He could hear her clanking this time and he rounded the corner unchallenged by the four or five Mandalorians sitting and waiting for various pieces of their beskar. 

She did not turn around, but he knew that she had felt his presence by the set of her shoulders.

“Were you successful then?” she asked him, swinging her hammer once more.

“I was,” he replied, undoing the vambraces on his arms.

“Your friend, he is safe?”

“No. But he is doing what must be done to save many thousands here.”

_ Please stay safe, Piett. How would I face Veers, let alone my daughter? _

She set her hammer down slowly and turned to face him as he handed her the borrowed armor.

“Thank you.” She beckoned him closer and he stepped forward.

“Should you need to, the children know how to access the tunnels. The boy who followed your friend. He will know. Follow your way Anakin Skywalker.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your generosity.”

“It is the way,” she replied simply.

  
  


****

Piett moved unhurriedly through the crowds. His knee was weak, but the pain killer was doing its job, and whatever his lordship had done allowed him to use it, which he could not have otherwise. Henley would insist on that surgery now, but there was nothing for it.

He could actually feel his skin reddening under the brutal twin sunlight and despite the painkiller, the chafing of the fabric wrapping the nasty burn on his arm was not pleasant.

The large square building was up ahead on the corner. He could see the exceedingly narrow alley in the back and made his way there. 

Chromksy worked for the tech company that manufactured the slave tracking chips here in Mos Eisley. More importantly he was in the division that designed and tested their remote triggering capabilities. 

Of course, all he had told Dravosk was that he needed to meet Chromksy for his own business. His hope was that would be the end of his informant’s interest. However, the Admiral was very aware, given all which had transpired in the last 16 hours, that Dravosk could have scared the man. Worse, there could be people waiting for him inside. 

It was a risk he had to take. He had to keep moving the plan forward. Failure here would not only mean horrific repercussions  immediately, but a lack of trust in them for future endeavors (should they live through this one).

  
  
  


He made his way to the scratched metal door in the back and rapped on it four times. 

A local stray was eating something disgusting at the end of the alleyway. He was surrounded by unremarkable clay walls. Happily not many windows to be observed from as well. The door opened with hiss that blew sand out into the alley around Piett’s feet, and he found himself with the sweating and pudgy man of the evening before. 

“He said you weren’t coming,” the man commented, looking with distaste at Piett’s bruised and scabbed face.

“Well, he doesn’t know me very well does he?” Piett responded calmly.  _ Dravosk then. _

“Credits?” Chromksy asked nervously, eyes darting around.

_ He kept shooting glances to his left and Piett was sure someone was behind the door. _

He handed over some of what his commander had given him. Chromksy glanced through it and gestured for him to come in, turning around and moving into the building.

Piett let out a small breath and entered, immediately ducking and lashing out to his left. 

He was rewarded with a surprised squawk and he moved back slightly, smelling that faint whiff of spice and seeing the lanky hair before he adjusted his stance.

_ He’d hoped for this opportunity.  _

He drove one fist directly into his former contact’s nose and followed up with a swift uppercut. As Dravosk reeled from that, he drove his knee into the man’s groin and he doubled up on the floor where Piett spotted his blaster.

He scooped it up and had the man stunned in seconds. 

A tiny ‘oh’ from Chromksy was all the warning he got of the second man. 

Piett spun in time to see his attacker lunging and he dropped to the floor, just as the General taught him, kicking up with his leg as soon as his back hit the ground.

It was as effective as it was in the gym, and the man sailed over his head to smack solidly into the opposite wall. The trouble was that Piett felt something give way in his knee at the same time.

_ Damn it. _

He staggered to his feet nonetheless. “Shut up!” he snapped at Chromksy who was murmuring in terror. Piett limped (apparently he could still do that, but it felt incredibly wrong and if he hadn’t had pain killers in his system, he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk) to both his assailants and stunned them again for good measure. He stripped the blaster off of the other man and then turned to Chromksy who was cowering behind him. 

“Is that a maintenance closet?” He asked, gesturing with the blaster to the door beside him.

“Ye…..yes,” the tech stammered.

“Then move them in. I’m not able to.”   
  


“I...I…” 

Piett rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, I’ll pay you more, but you will do what I say. And then you’re going to do what I ask.”

Several breathless moments later, Chromksy was leading the way up the dim stairwell to the next level of the building and along deserted office spaces.

“We’re not open on Taungsdays typically,” he told Piett unnecessarily.

“Quite,” he responded dryly.

The tech opened a door with his code cylinder, and led the way into a large room with as many as fifty data banks and numerous workstations. 

“All right,”Chromksy said, turning toward him and eyeing the blaster nervously. “What did you want?”

“Can you work with the remote access for slave trackers from this room?” Piett asked, moving to the windows that overlooked the sandy streets below.

“Yes. I can access everything to do with our manufacturing here.”

“Good. Then I want you to disable the detonation in the tracker chips.”

He glanced at the man, who was looking puzzled.

“Uh…..ok, which ones?”

“All of them.”

A beat of very loaded silence. Piett pulled out the rest of the credits and placed them meaningfully on a desk.

“Enough for you to set up somewhere else and enjoy an easy life. And of course, I’ve never met you before.”

Chromksy licked his lips. “Yeah, but what if you’re caught and….?”   
  


“Where do you think I got this?” Piett said dryly, gesturing to his face. “I won’t give you up.”

The sweating man looked between the Admiral’s beaten face and the pile of chips on the table, clearly wavering.

“Ok, but……”

“I’ll make sure you get safely out of this building,” Piett added, trying very hard not to roll his eyes.

_ It was due to the greed and weakness of this man that he could save thousands of people. He needed to remember that.  _

Chromksy nodded and moved to a console bank to start typing in commands. Piett alternated between watching the door and the street below.

Another ten minutes of tense silence and a thought struck Piett.

“Chromksy, how powerful are the transmitters here?”

“What do you mean?” the pudgy man asked, looking at him.

“As in, can you communicate to someone in orbit?”

The tech gaped at him. “Well…..I suppose, if they’re close enough. They aren’t long range if that’s what you mean.”

“No, orbit is fine. Set me up please with a channel--I have the code.”

The tech wisely didn’t ask further questions and moved to do what the Admiral asked. 

Piett typed in the numbers, and picked up the headset to keep this conversation as private as possible.

“Who is this?” came Skywalker’s young voice.

“Commander,” Piett responded.

“Oh thank the  _ Force _ , Admiral! I was monitoring communications….and my Father was so worried…”   
  


“You’ve communicated with your Father then?”

“Well, no, not exactly. I could feel his emotions though.”

_ Well. Piett hadn’t known that Darth Vader could be worried.  _

“Commander, I need you to communicate with your Father to let him know when the chips are disabled. My comm was taken, but I’m where I need to be, and have a man working on it now.”

“Yes sir, I can do that. What will you do after that?”   
  


“I will try to rejoin your Father. Thank you, Commander,” he told the young Jedi.

“Yes, sir. Be safe.”

Piett removed the headset and rose, a stab of pain accompanying him this time. 

_ Kriff, his knee was on a clock then. Would he be able to make it all the way back to the garrison? _

“How much longer?” he asked Chromksy.

The man was sweating profusely now. “Five minutes,” he said.

Piett limped to the window once more. It was easy to spot the motley groups of ruffians that the cartels employed to keep everyone in line here. He hoped they had estimated the resolve and numbers of the slave population correctly. He hoped Veers wouldn’t have to cause too much destruction---civilian casualties were not something either of them wanted. 

And he rather hoped they all made it out of this alive. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The slaves throw off their chains and our heros help them do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading along! I definitely plan to continue this series and have a few one shot ideas already. I love hearing from you all so thank you for that too! :)

Veers flicked off his commlink and squinted ahead through the viewport of his walker before remembering that he could just slap down the visor on his helmet, which he did. 

Nine  _ hells _ , did he hate the sand. It reflected terribly, got into literally everything, and even with the air conditioning in the Herd, made everything too warm. 

He pondered his conversation with Skywalker.

_ “General? I assume you are on your way in?” _

_ “Naturally. What is it, Commander?” _

_ “I just spoke with the Admiral, sir.” _

_ Veers was not the sort to go weak at the knees in relief. But he understood the compulsion. _

_ “And?” _

_ “He’s doing what he needs to sir, but, well, it’s one of those Force things sir…” _

_ “I have learned to pay attention to ‘Force things’, Skywalker, what is it?” _

_ “I’m concerned about him being able to get back to my Father. I am making you aware of that concern.” _

_ “Thank you, Commander. Where was he when you spoke?” _

_ “My understanding was that he was at the chip manufacturing company.” _

_ “Right.” Veers recalled that location on the map. _

_ “Good luck, General.” _

_  
_ _  
_ _ “And you.” _

Veers both hated and appreciated ‘Force things’. It meant that he had some forewarning and thus, forearming. It also meant that he was confirmed in his concern over Piett’s physical state. 

“Sir.”

Ellery’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“Yes?”   
  
“We’re approaching the line sir.”

The line where they would be noticed by sensors. Where there was no going back.

“Proceed, Sergeant Major.”

“Yes, sir.”

He put the macrobinoculars up and there, he could just see the city on the far off horizon. No doubt a few panicked individuals were trying to make sense of seeing Imperial walkers on their sensors at this point. 

“Commander Travis,” he said into his comlink.

“Yes, General?”

“Please relay the reminder to your division that we are seeking to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. We are here for the leaders.”

“Absolutely, sir.”

Ellery swung around to look at him.

“General, Lord Vader reports that the trackers have been disabled, sir!”

_ Well done, Piett. Now get yourself out of there. _

“Thank you Sergeant. Relay to all walkers.”

  
  
  


******

Anakin felt the shift in the Force and then Luke was with him.

_ Father. _

_ I’m here, my son. _

_ The trackers are disabled. I’ve been in contact with the Admiral. _

_ Then be ready, Luke. _ _  
_ _  
_ _ I will Father. The Force be with you. _

_ And you. _

  
  


He turned to the red headed boy with him and reached with the Force to feel around the tracker implant. 

_ Well done indeed, Admiral. _

“Go and spread the word to the others,” he told him, “and then you all get to the tunnels. As many children as possible.”

The child nodded and darted off. 

_ It was time. _

Then Anakin strode out into the shadow of the Ubrikkian Trade Tower and fired his blaster into the air.

Luke had disapproved of this part of the plan.

  
  


_ Utterly reckless, his son insisted. _

_ Piett and Veers hadn’t said anything, but they were most  _ **_definitely_ ** _ thinking the same. _

_ But it does the job quickly, he’d said. _

_ Numerous sighs and longsuffering looks around the table. _

_ Perfect then. _

  
  


Immediately and unsurprisingly, all sorts of disreputable types began converging on his position. In moments, he was surrounded by numerous nasty looking beings, blasters and stun weapons drawn and facing him. 

But from streets and alleyways all around, there was a growing murmur and he sensed the slaves coming to him. 

Armed with blasters he’d hidden with them over the months, as well as an assortment of odd weapons, ranging from butcher knives to hydrodrills, the much larger crowd assembled to surround the ruffians facing down Anakin. He looked around with pride at the assembled faces---old, young, male, female, human, Twi’lek, Rodian, Cerean. It was an ever growing sea.

“If you put your weapons down now,” he told them in a loud voice, “we won’t have to use force!”

A large Trandoshan looked around and sneered.

“Oh yes? This lot is your back up? The chattel?”

“No,” replied Anakin loudly and calmly, “the free beings are my backup.”

And a human male with a huge scar down his face was pulling the trigger….

..Anakin leapt into the air and the shot hit one of the motley cartel army across from the man. 

“Sithspit!” the man swore.

“Indeed,” Anakin agreed, his blood singing with the anticipation of battle and he fired.

The former slaves roared and charged in, many eager to forgo blasters in order to get paws, hands and claws upon their former oppressors. The noise was deafening, but even so, Anakin could hear the whine of speeders coming in and he called out.

“Enemy speeders! Take cover!”

And moments later, modified sand speeders came whizzing in, firing as they came. The crowd took cover behind buildings, crates or even some of the their enemies. Anakin reached with the Force.

The garrison was starting to empty of the cartel men that had been station there. He could sense the former slave faction he’d stationed there getting ready.

Hopefully this meant…..he reached again just as the first rumble shook the ground slightly and all the beings around him stilled, wondering if they had actually felt that.

“Earthquake!” shouted a poison green Twi’lek who had been firing at him moments before.

“No,” replied Anakin smiling with predatory joy, “Walker.”

And another stronger rumble shook the ground just before a huge explosion blew part of the city wall out. 

The speeders promptly took off in that direction, clearly called back. 

Anakin tapped the food stall Togruta on the shoulder.

“Take over here!” he shouted. “I’m heading for the garrison. Remember, we’re not here to slaughter. We’re here for justice.”

The Togruta nodded and Anakin turned to run towards the garrison as Veers blasted out the city gates on that side. 

  
  
  


****

After practically shepherding Chromksy out of the building, Piett had gone back up the stairs (and that had been horrible with his knee) and proceeded to destroy all the consoles in the room they had been in---just to make sure there was no way that the trackers could be reactivated and cause a massacre. 

He could hear the growing commotion outside and knew that his commander had started things. 

_ Well, he had two blasters now, that was something.  _

Of course, he also had an increasingly unusable leg, and that was something too. He needed to get to the garrison to have a hope of making it out of this alive.

He limped out to join the massing crowds. If he was gauging what he heard correctly, the fighting was spreading through the city. The leaders were either holing up or fleeing. He saw several private ships taking off, and hoped that the Rogues and the Axxilan ships were ready for them. 

A large explosion happened not far away and he realized the earth had been trembling slightly for some time.

_ Veers _ .

Veers and his Herd were here. And that heartened Piett to no end.

He made his way into thicker crowds and then suddenly found himself in a very active war zone. He ducked behind several barrels as blaster shots ricocheted off of them and then risked a glance out. There. Several cartel ruffians were ensconced in a shop front and very effectively causing devastation amongst the citizenry. Piett took aim and fired.

One immediately went down and the others began searching for his location as he ducked back. He waited three seconds and risked a second look and shot, taking out another one. This time others in the crowd were looking his direction.

_ Damn it, that wouldn’t help. _

And sure enough, shots began splattering against the metal barrels in front of him. He took a breath, timing things in his head, then whipped out and fired twice in succession.

_ Chew on that then. _

He knew things were improving when the crowd started to roar in triumph and he risked a look. Indeed the ruffians were retreating from their position as the crowd moved forward. 

But things could change in a Kessel minute during battle as Piett well knew. Out of nowhere two modified Imperial speeders appeared and the crowd was scattered in moments, screaming in fear. One of their shots, whether by luck or design, obliterated the barrels in front of Piett and he was sent flying back to crash into the wall of the building behind him. 

_ Get up!  _ his brain urged.

_ Can’t, _ his body responded, ears ringing.

_ Up! Now! _ His internal voice always sounded like Veers in times of crisis. 

_ Yes sir, General, _ he thought and decided vaguely that it must be the concussion talking. He had enough wits left to keep a grip on his blaster, and reached backwards to get support from the wall and heave himself up. 

Just in time too.

A shot splattered where his head had been a moment before and his training kicked in. He was firing back even before his mind caught up fully to the direction it had come from. 

Then, surprisingly, a laugh and that brought his focus back, because it was terribly familiar.

_ The Weequay. From the Hutt’s palace _ .

“Fancy finding you  _ here _ , Admiral!”

And Piett decided he wasn’t waiting to die.

He pushed off of the wall to tackle the much bigger being around the waist and do his best to bear them to the sand. He succeeded, owing to the sheer element of surprise and then they were rolling in the dust. Piett managed to get in some decent hits with his blaster before he was the one on the bottom and the Weequay, with terrible knowledge, bunched his huge fist and punched Piett’s bad knee twice with devastating force. 

His world became a white fire of pain, and he knew that he was dead.

_ I’m sorry Veers, princess. _

He heard the shots fired, and they were so loud as though coming from a much bigger gun….

….because they were. 

His vision and hearing came back in time to see the Weequay reduced to black ash and his compatriots fleeing to no avail as they were caught in the hail of massive fire from…

….the AT-ST which had stomped into the square and was picking them off like womp rats.

Piett stared at it stupidly for a moment before the hatch popped, and a familiar pair of intense grey eyes met his. 

Veers turned to shout some orders Piett couldn’t hear down into the belly of his walker, and then the General was shimmying down the leg with impressive speed, and running to the Admiral’s side. 

“Remarkably great timing, Veers,” Piett said, squinting up at his friend.

The General scanned his appearance and gave a sigh. “I  _ knew _ you were in terrible shape.”

“How did you know where I was?” Piett asked, puzzled, and watched over Veers’ shoulder as the walker lowered itself as far toward the ground as possible. 

“Commander Skywalker reported your last known position. I postulated from there. The trail of destruction made it easy,” Veers responded, pulling out his field kit and rummaging before stabbing a hypospray into Piett’s neck. And the relief from pain was…...he felt limp. Apparently  _ was _ limp because he was half lying across Max when he focused again and found he was being given water.

He coughed. “All right, all right, I’m here, stop.”

Max pulled the canteen away and peered at him. “All right. Firmus? Your knee? It’s a mess.”

_ Yes, he knew that, thank you Veers. _

“Yes. Those last few punches…” he sighed. “I’m going to have to have that surgery Henley’s been pushing now.”   
  


Veers snorted. “High time, Admiral. Modern medicine is actually a good thing you know. All right, can you stand?”

And Piett wanted to tough it out, but he knew he’d put his knee through enough.

“I’m afraid not, Max.”

  
  
“Yes, well, it was mostly a rhetorical question. Hold on, Firmus,” and Piett found himself in a fireman’s carry. A blaster shot buried itself at Veers’ feet and he lifted his blaster in indignation with his free hand, to take out the one who had fired behind them.

“Got him?” Veers called running toward the walker.

“Oh yes.” 

“Not complaining about practicing from a moving object now, are you, Piett?”*   
  


“Oh for kriff’s sake, really Max?” 

Veers chuckled, and then another set of hands was lifting him up and onto the roof of the AT-ST. 

Once they were all back inside, Piett was reminded of his commander.

“Is Lord Vader…?”

“Successfully took the garrison. When I informed him that I intended to find you, he insisted I take the AT-ST.”   
  


“You were just going to come running out here to find me, were you?” Piett murmured, leaning against the metal interior of the walker as it lurched to its feet once more. 

Veers looked at him seriously. “Absolutely, Admiral. It’s you.”

Piett held his gaze for a moment, hoping his eyes were saying what his voice couldn’t.

Veers smiled. “We’ve rounded up most of the cartel leaders, though the Hutt is holed up in his palace. Commander Travis’s division is on its way there to decimate it.”

“You’re missing out.”

“I’m really not.”

Piett closed his aching eyes, holding out his hand confidently, and his friend gripped it firmly.

****

Anakin found them hours later, after communicating with his son and ensuring that his prisoners were ready for transport to the bigger Axxilan ships.

He was tired, but so very satisfied with their success. Outside the garrison the street parties were in full swing. He could smell delicious roasting meat and could see the occasional firework shoot into the sky. 

These people would at last have a chance at choosing their own destiny, and maybe making something of Tatooine again, more than a safe haven for the smugglers and pirates. 

This was his opening salvo. The Hutt cartel would notice as would numerous other criminal factions. Good. They would be wondering who was behind this and Anakin was pleased he had been able to hide his identity. The time would come when they would know that Anakin Skywalker hunted them but it was not yet. 

He had nine prisoners to take to trial. The Hutt had been destroyed inside the palace, and Luke had sounded oddly pleased to hear that the place had been reduced to smoking rubble.

_ “I believe you and I need to discuss the events surrounding Jabba’s death at some point,” he had told his son. _

_ A sigh over their comms. “Yes, though I admit, it would be easier with something to drink.” _

_ “We can arrange that, son.” _

_ “I’d like that Father. I’ll see you back on the Lady.” _

_ “Safe stars, son.” _

He came to the outer courtyard of the garrison, where, he had been informed, his Admiral and his General were located.

The place had also become a temporary hospital, and the army medics were scurrying around busily for both troopers and civilians.

He paused and watched them for a moment, grateful that both of his trusted officers-- _ friends- _ -were alive and in mostly one piece.

The Axxilan ships were sending down med teams, but until then, numerous people were helping out where they could. Including Generals, apparently. 

Piett was leaning against a duffel which was in turn leaning against the foot of an AT-AT and the shade it provided. His bad leg was propped on top of a stack of blankets and Veers was kneeling at his side, carefully cleaning the burn wound on his arm with an open field kit at his side. Piett was holding a cold pack to his jaw, and he could hear them arguing good naturedly. 

“.... don’t  _ try _ to get myself into these situations, Veers, so I’m just saying you could be a little pleased that I remembered what you taught me.”

“You blew out your knee doing it,” the General responded dryly, pausing as Piett flinched. “Sorry, Firmus, this is pretty bad, almost done.”

He gave his friend a gentle pat and continued with the wound treatment. 

“My knee was already a mess  _ before _ I did that move,” Piett explained and Veers rolled his eyes. 

“I love how you say that as though it makes it better,” the General said, “because it doesn’t. It makes me want to hunt all those bastards down and destroy them.” 

“Well you did get the Weequay with the AT-ST,” Piett told him. 

“Did you General?” said Anakin, coming closer, “excellent work.”

“My Lord…”

“As you were, Piett,  _ stars _ , don’t move. I’m already in so much trouble with my daughter for this.”

Veers snorted a laugh, but didn’t look up from his work on the nasty burn.

Piett smiled slightly. “I hardly see that this is your fault, my Lord. She will see reason…”

Anakin and the General shared a look. The princess could be very reasonable indeed. But for Piett….

“She will be most displeased with me for not allowing her to destroy the Hutt’s palace. And will no doubt have some choice words for all of us.”

They considered this for a moment.

“Worth it, though,” said Veers mildly, finding the bacta bandages and beginning to wind them around Piett’s forearm. 

“Agreed,” said the Admiral.

Anakin looked at them both, and was met with resolute grey and hazel eyes. 

“It is a beginning,” he told them, thinking of a grave out in the desert.

“On to the next one,” said Piett with a face full of understanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *chapter 58 The Right Time in Forging Ahead---Veers and Piett have a little competition going on with their blaster accuracy


End file.
